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Are You an Innovator?

By Katherine Grayson

05/23/05

We’re looking for the 2005 Campus Technology Innovators, and you
and your campus may fit the bill.

Not long ago, during a discussion about technology innovation on US college
and university campuses, an IT product vendor and I were discussing what appears
to be an all-too-common problem in higher education. The conversation went something
like this:

Me: Do you offer consulting services around your product,
to help schools innovate with technology?

Vendor: Yes, and sales aside, I wish more campuses would take
advantage of those services; it would save everyone a lot of anguish, and could
make such a huge difference to the campus.

Me: Anguish? What do you mean?

Vendor: It’s so often the same old story: The CIO (or
IT director, or president) decides that our product could bring all sorts of
benefits to the school, help the institution attract more students, and keep
it competitive. So he makes the big pitch for the expenditure, gets it approved,
and the IT team implements it. That’s when the trouble starts.

Me: What kind of trouble? You’ve sold your product,
and the school has new technology. Isn’t that a win-win?

Vendor: Sometimes. But often, without a partnership between
the institution and the vendor to uncover the product’s potential for
a particular campus, the IT team and others on campus may see only a fraction
of the benefit the technology can bring to the institution. And without a real
understanding of how far the product could take them, and how best to use it
to innovate, it’s a hard sell to the rest of the folks on campus who may
already be set in their ways with the older technology. In the end, our terrific
new product sits unused, or its potential is unrealized; the board is unhappy
with the return on investment; our product is blamed for not delivering; and
worst of all, the students ultimately are the losers.

Me: What can be done to open the eyes of higher ed administrators?

Vendor: Higher ed needs to look at this more than it has.
And it sure would help to highlight and recognize those schools and individuals
that have taken their technology investments to new heights. Sometimes, strong
vendor/campus partnerships are supporting the innovation; sometimes, a sole
campus visionary “gets” it, and markets the potential to the rest
of the campus community. Those are the schools and individuals we should applaud

Clearly, I agree. This August, our first Special Focus on the campuses and
individuals driving technology innovation in higher ed will debut: The
2005 Campus Technology Innovators.

Have you and/or your campus realized the potential of a recent technology investment?
Have you taken it to the max? Have you worked with, or do you know of a school
and/or individual worthy of such recognition? Enter a nomination by contacting
Claudia Linh at clinh@101com.com, and
explain, in a brief paragraph, why your nominee(s) should be considered. Mark
your subject line, “2005 Campus Innovator Nomination,”
and post by June 15.

About the Author

Katherine Grayson is is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering technology,
education, and business issues.